In This Mexican City, Trans People Are Celebrated. So Why Do They Feel So Left Out?
The people of Juchitán have long shown love for their gender-bending “muxes.” But beyond the glitz and glamor, some say pageantry is no substitute for equal rights.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_5760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9450c24d-a757-4db0-b45b-cae6dbc21b87_2048x1152.jpeg)
Photos by Kevin Milian
As the December sun sets over the terracotta tiled roofs of Juchitán de Zaragoza – a rural town of about 90,000 in the southwest Mexican state of Oaxaca – the streets are empty in silent anticipation. Many of the men who live here have just come back from working at the oil refinery; many women have returned from selling crafts at the marketplace. One man, age thirty, takes off his schoolteacher clothes and showers. When he has dried himself off, he puts on a corset and wig and applies dramatic makeup to contour his face.
“This outfit took me two hours to prepare, with my makeup and clothes and my wig, and my waist-trainer,” he says.
Across town, through the blanched walls of the church and past the bustling marketplace, an older man layers golden necklaces over his starched white button-down, while his maid hands him a pair of black slacks. Elsewhere, a woman pulls on tight pleather shorts and puts pasties on her exposed breasts, preparing for a performance. Skin …
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Narratively to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.